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Friday, 5 October 2012

Review of the Market Square

Thought I'd try to write the personal review of one of the locations we visited this night.

It's pretty late now, considering I'll be up around 8. I don't enjoy 7 hours of sleep.

Review of the Market Square

The market square is a very versatile area of Nottingham - a
location that has multi-cultural and multi-subcultural uses. Many sorts of
people can use it for an array of different things. First and foremost it is
the hub of Nottingham - you could indeed describe it as being in the middle of
the city. This makes it an excellent place for meeting your friends before
embarking on other activities.

As a consequence of its ease of access and large open space,
it often plays host to a number of different events. These include the summer
beach theme, where the feel of tropical beaches are brought to the very inland
Nottingham city. It includes genuine sand!

During Christmas there is a European market that even has a
small German style bar with food - this brings the flavours of some of our
other neighbouring countries into our city centre, as well as offering a chance
to buy some handmade jewellery and other craft items that aren't available from
anywhere else in Nottingham.

One could not forget the Nottingham Eye, a temporary Ferris
wheel brought here in time for valentine's day. It's a nice opportunity to have
a quiet moment with your loved one, as well as getting a glimpse of
Nottingham's rooftop - providing you go at daytime.

Around the autumn season, Game City moves in. This gives a
chance for the younger generations to check out up and coming video games or to
try out games made by local indie developers. It could potentially be a lure
into the games and creative industries for those who have not yet moved into
their careers.

The market square also sees the likes of outdoor concerts and
other media events, from Afro-Caribbean themed musical concerts, to poetry,
demonstrations by the armed forces, and just general commercial events.

On a personal level I find that the market square's greatest
use is as a location for riding bikes and skateboarding. As a rider, I find the
square caters well for the purposes of meeting friends, and a place to initiate
or conclude a ride. The multiple steps and platforms of differing levels
present good locations for performing tricks, and the wide variety and
reasonable space allows the creation of a fair amount of trick combinations.

Despite the market square being such a great location for
such sports, it has some pretty significant downfalls. The first is that
depending on when you go there, it can be pretty full of people and indeed
other events such as the Ferris wheel, which leaves no room for the rider or
skater.

The second is that there is never an PCSO or CPO far away to
issue you with a £30 fine for enjoying such an area. It's understandable, and
that understanding usually gets you out of paying the fine, but the PCSOs or
CPOs will always move you on. There'll never be time to complete that trick
combo you were dreaming of.